Reflections On An Ordination &
Consecration
Martha and I traveled to New Orleans this past weekend to attend the
ordination and consecration of Morris Thompson as the 11th Bishop of the
Diocese of Louisiana (and the 1,043rd bishop in the American succession). We
had forged a relationship with Morris, and his family, while he served as a
member of the clergy staff of St. James’, Jackson, in the early and mid
1990’s. For me, that relationship grew stronger over time as Morris led my
EFM group, opened for me new spiritual pathways (he was the person who first
told me about silent retreats at the Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand
Coteau, Louisiana), and played a pivotal role in my discernment process. He
and I stayed in touch after he and his family moved to Lexington, Kentucky,
where he served as Dean of the Cathedral for some 13+ years before his
election as bishop. In 2002, he returned to St. James’, Jackson, and
preached at my ordination to the diaconate.
An ordination is always a festive event and last Saturday’s service was no
exception. Many bishops (including the Most Reverend Katherine Jefferts
Schori, our Presiding Bishop and Primate and our own bishop, Duncan Gray,
III), priests and deacons from the Episcopal Church, as well as
representatives from other denominations and faith communities were present
and vested. These bishops, priests and deacons were joined by three masters
of ceremonies, multiple vergers, droves of acolytes, and banner bearers
representing every parish, mission and school in the diocese so as to form a
procession that snaked down St. Charles Ave. and then around the corner
almost as far as the eye could see. The combined diocesan choir led us in
beautiful hymns and their voices soared as anthems and chants reverberated
inside the cathedral. Using Isaiah 61:1-8 as his primary text (“The spirit
of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me . . . .”),
Bishop Sauls, diocesan bishop of Lexington, preached one of the top five
sermons I’ve ever heard (I have a copy; let me know if you’d like one). His
inspiring words still ring in my ears. The “picture postcard moment”
occurred when all the bishops gathered around Morris as he knelt at the
transept, laid their hands upon his head and together said “Father, make
Morris a bishop in your Church.” The Holy Spirit indeed was present at that
moment.
As I stood outside of Christ Church Cathedral waiting to process into the
nave, the words of the opening anthem written by Cantique de Jean Racine
pulled me up short:
O Redeemer divine, our sole hope of
salvation, Eternal Light of the earth and the sky, we kneel in
adoration, O Savior, turn on us Thy loving eye! Send down on us the
fire of Thy grace all-consuming, whose wondrous might dispersed the
powers of hell, and rouse our slumbering souls with Thy radiance, that
they may waken Thy mercy to tell! O Christ bestow Thy blessing on
us, we implore Thee, who here are gathered on penitent knee. Accept the
hymns we chant to Thine eternal glory and these Thy gifts we return unto
Thee!
These words reminded me that while 1,000 or
so people had gathered amidst great pageantry to make Morris a bishop in the
church, our celebration was about much, much more. Indeed, the assembled had
been called together to open our hearts to the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, made known to us in Word and Sacrament, and to be set on fire so
that we might undertake the work God has given us to do: “to bring good news
to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; [and] to comfort all who mourn.”
That was the call to those assembled last Saturday. It is also the call God
has entrusted to All Saints’: to do justice and to proclaim the good news of
Christ. May our souls daily be awakened and inspired by the power and
abundance of the Holy Spirit so that we might embrace and revel in a life of
perfect service to and in Christ our Savior.
Paul +
